Illinois vs. Purdue preview

When Purdue coach Matt Painter looks at Illinois, he sees a big problem named Meyers Leonard.

Kirk Wessler

When Purdue coach Matt Painter looks at Illinois, he sees a big problem named Meyers Leonard.

"They're a totally different team than last year," Painter said of the Illini, whose men's basketball team will visit his Boilermakers in Mackey Arena on Saturday at 3 p.m. CST. "They've added the post who can really play. Meyers Leonard is one of the best bigs in the country, and he has reshaped their team, offensively."

As a 7-foot-1 sophomore, Leonard has begun to figure out how to combine his skill, athleticism and passion into a focused force. After playing only 8 minutes per game as a freshman - and many of those minutes in a state of awkward confusion - Leonard is playing almost 30 minutes now and making the most of them. He averages 13.9 points and 8.4 rebounds.

Defensively, he has blocked 36 shots in 14 games and altered, or simply scared off, uncounted dozens of others.

"He can hurt you a lot of different ways," Painter said. "He's a very good passer from the high post. He can shoot from the perimeter. He can drive the ball, shoot over either shoulder, pass over either shoulder."

In other words, Leonard presents the Boilermakers with one giant headache.

Hummel, who sat out last season after undergoing two ACL repair surgeries in 2010, leads Purdue in scoring (17.4) and rebounding (6.3)and those intangibles like leadership, smarts and toughness. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2-1, and he has blocked 20 shots.

"Robbie Hummel is a little slowed up, but he still has great numbers and just gives you a tough matchup," Weber said. "He can do a lot of different things."

The overriding concern for Illinois, though, will be defensing those3-pointers. The Illini's defense inside and in pressure situations has been solid. Against the 3, it has been merely average, with opponents hitting 35 percent of their attempts.

"We need to get back to basics of good rotations," Weber said.

Purdue won its Big Ten road opener this week, at Iowa. Now it'sIllinois' turn for a road test, at a place that has not been kind to the Illini.

"When we go to Purdue, there's always one stretch in the second half where they seem to turn it up and flip the switch," Weber said.

The Illini have to figure out how to get to the switch first and disable it.

NOTEWORTHY: Purdue leads the series 93-84 and has won the last five.Illinois last won at Mackey Arena in 2008. ... Illini redshirt sophomore guard Joseph Bertrand has come off the bench to score 32 points over the past two games, against Missouri and Minnesota. ... Illinois center Meyers Leonard is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week. ... Purdue sophomore forward Sandi Mercius, who has started seven games, is nursing a calf injury and Boilermakers coach Matt Painter says he does not expect Mercius to play.